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M. Mese

Publications and source records attributed to M. Mese.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
arXiv2026

POEMMA-Balloon with Radio: A multi-messenger, multi-detector balloon payload

A review of the current status of the field of Ultra-High-Energy Cosmic Ray (UHECR) including a summary of remaining open questions was presented in the white paper "Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Rays: at the Intersection of the Cosmic and Energy Frontiers" (Astropart. Phys. 147 (2023) 102794; arXiv:2205.05845). The authors concluded that two types of next-generation detectors are needed to answer these questions: high-accuracy instruments and detectors that maximize exposure at the highest energies. The Probe Of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA), a proposed dual-satellite observatory, exemplifies the latter class and is designed to increase statistics of the highest-energy cosmic rays and to detect very-high-energy neutrinos following multi-messenger alerts. POEMMA-Balloon with Radio (PBR) implements a compact, balloon-borne version of the POEMMA concept, adapted for a Super-Pressure Balloon flight from Wanaka, New Zealand, with an expected campaign exceeding 20 days. PBR couples a wide field-of-view Schmidt telescope and a hybrid optical focal surface with a dedicated radio instrument to deliver simultaneous, complementary measurements of extensive air showers. The mission will validate the fluorescence detection strategy from space and raise technology readiness for a POEMMA-like space mission by observing UHECR-induced fluorescence light from suborbital altitudes, obtaining the first simultaneous optical Cherenkov and radio observations of high-altitude horizontal air showers above the cosmic-ray knee (E>3PeV), enabling energy-spectrum and composition studies at the PeV scale, and performing follow-ups of multi-messenger alerts to search for very-high-energy neutrinos via upward-going air showers. This paper summarizes the PBR payload and its expected performance.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2025

Control and read-out of the HEPD-02 tracking system onboard CSES-02 satellite

The High Energy Particle Detector (HEPD-02) is a payload of the second China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES-02), designed and built by the Italian Limadou collaboration. Its purpose is to detect cosmic rays and trapped particles of radiation belts, in the kinetic energy range 3-100 MeV for electrons, 30-200 MeV for protons. HEPD-02 is the first space detector to use a tracking detector based on Monolithic Active Pixel Sensors (MAPS). The MAPS provides high spatial resolution, low noise, increased robustness, and low production costs. Operating MAPS in space presents a significant challenge due to strict power consumption requirements. To meet such constraints, a custom Tracker Data Acquisition (TDAQ) board and firmware have been designed and implemented, by using a commercial low-power Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). This paper addresses the design features of the TDAQ unit, enabling the tracking detector to be operated efficiently, with particular focus on the power consumption performance.

physics.ins-det↗
arXiv2025

The simulation chain for the Terzina Cherenkov telescope on board the NUSES space mission

The Terzina telescope is designed to detect ultra-high energy cosmic rays (UHECRs) and Earth-skimming neutrinos from a 550 km low-Earth orbit (LEO) by observing Cherenkov light emitted by Extensive Air Showers (EAS) in the Earth's atmosphere pointing towards the telescope and in the field of view. In this contribution, a simulation chain for the Terzina telescope on board the NUSES mission will be presented. The chain encompasses all stages of the detection process, from event generation and EAS modelling with CORSIKA and EASCherSim to Geant4-based simulations of the telescope's geometry and optics, followed by modelling of the trigger system and silicon photomultiplier (SiPM) response. The Geant4 module includes the real CAD model of the telescope structure and optical components, with aspherical lenses manually implemented to ensure accurate representation of the optical efficiency and point spread function in Geant4. This comprehensive pipeline, developed using modular C++ code and Python tools for event analysis and reconstruction, produces detailed performance assessments of a telescope operating in a LEO mission but can be adapted for any high altitude Cherenkov telescope, making it a versatile tool for future observatory designs. The possibility of modelling balloons in the atmosphere has also been developed.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2023

Developments and results in the context of the JEM-EUSO program obtained with the ESAF Simulation and Analysis Framework

JEM--EUSO is an international program for the development of space-based Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray observatories. The program consists of a series of missions which are either under development or in the data analysis phase. All instruments are based on a wide-field-of-view telescope, which operates in the near-UV range, designed to detect the fluorescence light emitted by extensive air showers in the atmosphere. We describe the simulation software ESAFin the framework of the JEM--EUSO program and explain the physical assumptions used. We present here the implementation of the JEM--EUSO, POEMMA, K--EUSO, TUS, Mini--EUSO, EUSO--SPB1 and EUSO--TA configurations in ESAF. For the first time ESAF simulation outputs are compared with experimental data.

astro-ph.IM↗
arXiv2021

The Fluorescence Telescope on board EUSO-SPB2 for the detection of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays

The Fluorescence Telescope is one of the two telescopes on board the Extreme Universe Space Observatory on a Super Pressure Balloon II (EUSO-SPB2). EUSO-SPB2 is an ultra-long-duration balloon mission that aims at the detection of Ultra High Energy Cosmic Rays (UHECR) via the fluorescence technique (using a Fluorescence Telescope) and of Ultra High Energy (UHE) neutrinos via Cherenkov emission (using a Cherenkov Telescope). The mission is planned to fly in 2023 and is a precursor of the Probe of Extreme Multi-Messenger Astrophysics (POEMMA). The Fluorescence Telescope is a second generation instrument preceded by the telescopes flown on the EUSO-Balloon and EUSO-SPB1 missions. It features Schmidt optics and has a 1-meter diameter aperture. The focal surface of the telescope is equipped with a 6912-pixel Multi Anode Photo Multipliers (MAPMT) camera covering a 37.4 x 11.4 degree Field of Regard. Such a big Field of Regard, together with a flight target duration of up to 100 days, would allow, for the first time from suborbital altitudes, detection of UHECR fluorescence tracks. This contribution will provide an overview of the instrument including the current status of the telescope development.

astro-ph.IM↗